Livesey Children's Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Since the last inspection, what the nursery delivers has changed significantly. Leaders have precisely targeted their provision to meet the needs of local children and families. They provide exceptional support for those who need it most, successfully closing disadvantage gaps. With all children's well-being at the core of the curriculum, children are visibly happy and thriving.

Children arrive at nursery with big smiles and are greeted by warm and welcoming staff. The environment is expertly planned and helps children to feel safe and secure. The atmosphere is kept calm, for example, with fairy lights and gentle music playing. Staff show a deep understanding of children's individual needs and preferences, and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) arrive to familiar, nurturing routines. For example, some children are supported to watch favourite bubbles or hold a special toy in their safe space. Consequently, all children are content and settle quickly, ready to start their day.

The curriculum is highly inclusive, ambitious and aspirational for all children. Leaders have a clear and well-informed understanding of what their children need to learn most. Staff are highly trained to provide the best care and learning support for every child. For example, all children are expertly supported to develop their communication and language skills. Specifically planned and targeted activities spark children's interest, keep them engaged and help children build on their listening and attention skills. Staff are highly focused on introducing words, helping children to learn new vocabulary and make sense of the world around them.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Relationships at all levels are exceptionally strong. Partnerships with other professionals are used to the very best effect to ensure every child and family get the support they need. Staff build nurturing relationships with their key children, built on their deep understanding of needs. The knowledge and high expectations that staff have of every individual child help them deliver highly targeted care and learning.
• Excellent partnerships with parents make a real difference to the outcomes for children. Communication on arrival or collection, along with a mobile app, means that parents are extremely well informed about their children's progress and how they can contribute at home. Leaders deliver school readiness sessions, setting high expectations for pre-school children and offering support for parents. This has resulted in many children making rapid progress in their independent toileting skills. Parents highly praise the staff that help their children 'flourish'.
• Support for children with SEND is a significant strength. Leaders use all available funding with great care and purpose, such as providing high-quality, specialist support staff. They enable staff to identify their own training needs to be able to best support their key children. Many staff talk about the impact of their recent sensory communication training, which has helped some nonverbal children to start to express their needs and make requests. The nursery's highly inclusive approach ensures all children can engage in purposeful play. This helps them make significant gains in their learning and development.
• Staff skilfully follow children's interests to ignite curiosity and deepen learning. For example, after reading 'The Gingerbread Man', children explored the smell of ginger and used scented play dough to make their own gingerbread characters. They recite familiar story phrases and discuss the story characters as they play. Children follow their own ideas and thinking. For example, they access scissors to cut a straw into small pieces, proudly explaining they are making 'nostrils'. As a result, children are becoming highly independent and confident in their play and learning.
• Communication and language development is a key strength. Leaders and staff carefully plan the delivery of the curriculum to give high priority to helping children develop a love of books and stories. They inspire highly positive attitudes to reading at home and provide a well-used, accessible book-borrowing station. Carefully chosen books are precisely matched to children's developmental stages. Staff bring stories to life and make reading meaningful. For example, after reading 'Goat Goes to Playgroup', children had the opportunity to experience and care for a real goat. Talking about what they saw and did helped to inspire and build their confidence in speaking.
• Leaders have established clear, consistent expectations for behaviour. Children make significant gains in their personal and social development. They learn to listen, take turns and show kindness to others. For example, children help others to access equipment and make sure their friends are safe before returning to play. They remind friends about the rules, for example when it is time to sit down for lunch after handwashing. Staff help children to understand emotions. Children use facial expressions to recognise and name their own feelings, and they begin to understand how others might be feeling too. Where children need extra support with behaviour, staff use strategies learned through specialist training and precisely assess what each child needs. This helps to ensure all children feel safe and are ready for the next stage of their education.